Advent Season Begins

I'm really excited about this year's Christmas season. We don't have a ton planned and we aren't traveling. I'm excited because William is starting to understand what is going on around him, and he's soaking it all up.

I'm excited to start an Advent calendar of sorts with him this year. It's more or less a reading plan to go with his Jesus Storybook and an activity for each day, but it should be fun. I hope he gets into it. (I hope I get into it too!)

This weekend we started decorating the house. Yesterday was cleaning day in preparation for the tree and everything else. (Am I the only one that waits to dust for this occasion?) The nativity has been set up and played with and reset up, the stockings are hung, and we have a tree! We haven't had a tree for the past two years because we were traveling for Christmas and we didn't really have the space. But we've rearranged since then (i.e. our bedroom is now in the living room and we are down to one couch) so a tree fits and our little boy hopefully won't try to eat it or the ornaments on it!

Here are a few photos from our tree-outing:

Today was the First Sunday of Advent and our sermon at church was about Thanksgiving, and not just for the food. I was really struck by how shallow my thankfulness runs sometimes and how much I actually have to be grateful for. And there is only ONE to thank . . . and it's not me. 

Here's to a great season of anticipation, of thankful hearts, and making memories!

I'm really excited about this year's Christmas season. We don't have a ton planned and we aren't traveling. I'm excited because William is starting to understand what is going on around him, and he's soaking it all up.

I'm excited to start an Advent calendar of sorts with him this year. It's more or less a reading plan to go with his Jesus Storybook and an activity for each day, but it should be fun. I hope he gets into it. (I hope I get into it too!)

This weekend we started decorating the house. Yesterday was cleaning day in preparation for the tree and everything else. (Am I the only one that waits to dust for this occasion?) The nativity has been set up and played with and reset up, the stockings are hung, and we have a tree! We haven't had a tree for the past two years because we were traveling for Christmas and we didn't really have the space. But we've rearranged since then (i.e. our bedroom is now in the living room and we are down to one couch) so a tree fits and our little boy hopefully won't try to eat it or the ornaments on it!

Here are a few photos from our tree-outing:

Today was the First Sunday of Advent and our sermon at church was about Thanksgiving, and not just for the food. I was really struck by how shallow my thankfulness runs sometimes and how much I actually have to be grateful for. And there is only ONE to thank . . . and it's not me. 

Here's to a great season of anticipation, of thankful hearts, and making memories!

2015 Fall Festivities

Fall is underway and now that the air has a chill and I've succeeded in making at least one pumpkin dish a week, its time I stop to share some of my favorite fall festivities and photos with you! (And I'm just really far behind and late in doing so).

During the last week of October, we headed to the pumpkin patch in the city for an afternoon of fun (earlier attempts to go elsewhere failed). The patch had numerous halloween displays and all types of pumpkins you can imagine. They had a hay-bail maze, hay rides, and even pony rides, most costing a pretty penny. We watched other kids doing each for a long time but we didn't go on the rides this year. William attempted the maze, but didn't quite enjoy it (and may even got stuck and/or lost for a minute).

We spent a good deal of time looking at all the pumpkins. He loved feeling them, picking them up, and claiming them as his own. Eventually we found the perfect one to take home.

The next day, we painted it! Last year, we just did a hand print, but this year, William was ready to be more involved. I used masking tape to make a "W" on one side and a face on the other. As much as he loves painting, he didn't get into it as much as I had expected and needed a lot of encouragement to keep going. But he loved the finished product and we've been getting out our paints a lot more frequently since!

On Halloween, we invited a few friends who had children over to hang out and eat goodies. We had chips and quac, apple slices and spider web brownies. Nothing over the top, but still fun and festive. 

William dressed up as a dog, a hand-me-down costume from a good friend. He was so cute and did quite well wearing it for most of the party (without the hood). Chris and I "dressed up" as a cat and mouse and William loved that idea. He had been pointing out all of the animal's tails in his books so I knew he'd like our costumes. He often asked to wear my ears and tail on top of his dog outfit. 

After the party, we took William for a little stroll on Cortland Avenue - a fun street in our neighborhood where all the merchants were participating in handing out treats. The sidewalks were super crowded and almost everyone was really dressed up; our little ears seemed a bit small. We had fun walking around and seeing the decorations and having William grab us candy. (I'm sure we'll have to share it next year!)

 We spent the month reading Halloween themed books and drawing pumpkins. Now, we're moving on to turkeys, leaves, and more delicious food! Happy Fall!

Fall is underway and now that the air has a chill and I've succeeded in making at least one pumpkin dish a week, its time I stop to share some of my favorite fall festivities and photos with you! (And I'm just really far behind and late in doing so).

During the last week of October, we headed to the pumpkin patch in the city for an afternoon of fun (earlier attempts to go elsewhere failed). The patch had numerous halloween displays and all types of pumpkins you can imagine. They had a hay-bail maze, hay rides, and even pony rides, most costing a pretty penny. We watched other kids doing each for a long time but we didn't go on the rides this year. William attempted the maze, but didn't quite enjoy it (and may even got stuck and/or lost for a minute).

We spent a good deal of time looking at all the pumpkins. He loved feeling them, picking them up, and claiming them as his own. Eventually we found the perfect one to take home.

The next day, we painted it! Last year, we just did a hand print, but this year, William was ready to be more involved. I used masking tape to make a "W" on one side and a face on the other. As much as he loves painting, he didn't get into it as much as I had expected and needed a lot of encouragement to keep going. But he loved the finished product and we've been getting out our paints a lot more frequently since!

On Halloween, we invited a few friends who had children over to hang out and eat goodies. We had chips and quac, apple slices and spider web brownies. Nothing over the top, but still fun and festive. 

William dressed up as a dog, a hand-me-down costume from a good friend. He was so cute and did quite well wearing it for most of the party (without the hood). Chris and I "dressed up" as a cat and mouse and William loved that idea. He had been pointing out all of the animal's tails in his books so I knew he'd like our costumes. He often asked to wear my ears and tail on top of his dog outfit. 

After the party, we took William for a little stroll on Cortland Avenue - a fun street in our neighborhood where all the merchants were participating in handing out treats. The sidewalks were super crowded and almost everyone was really dressed up; our little ears seemed a bit small. We had fun walking around and seeing the decorations and having William grab us candy. (I'm sure we'll have to share it next year!)

 We spent the month reading Halloween themed books and drawing pumpkins. Now, we're moving on to turkeys, leaves, and more delicious food! Happy Fall!

Weekend in Monterey

This past weekend, Chris had a wedding to attend near Monterey, CA so we decided to make a weekend out of it. Its been a while since we've done anything like that. I say Chris and not "we" because they specifically asked for no children to attend and since we didn't bring a babysitter, that meant William and I hung out together instead.

After the Walk for Life, we made the drive down. We stayed at an AirBnB in Marina CA which was nice, but not really kid friendly (wood floors, glass tables, fancy everything). While Chris was at the wedding William and I walked to the beach. When looking at the map, it looked like it was only six city blocks away which is totally doable, but this "city" was all spread out and a block was probably close to half a mile. In the end, it ended up being a four mile walk there and back! Including my walk that morning, I put in well over my 10,000 steps!

It was much colder than I had hoped it would be so we bundled up and got out or sand toys and had an hour of fun before hiking back for dinner. William and I ate at Taco Bell (because Toddler boy loves tacos and nachos and I figured it was better he eat than not). The decor was like a 50's diner and totally great for William's attention span. We actually had a nice little "date" and headed back just in time for bedtime.

Sleep was a little harder to come by that night. It was hot in the room and noisy outside but we had to have the window open. We missed our white noise of the fan from home and the sheets sounded like crinkled newspaper each time we moved. William woke up each time we got out of bed (to adjust the window or use the bathroom) and at one point he started sining "Jesus Loves Me" for nearly 15 minutes. Which is really the sweetest thing ever, but when you are loosing sleep, its not. Sharing a room was hard on all of us.

On Sunday, William woke up at 6 a.m. and we showered, packed our bags and headed to McDonalds! The only place open at 7:30 that had a playground (none of the parks I saw the day before had playgrounds for kids . . . just nature paths and bird watching).

After breakfast we headed to Monterey to see the aquarium. Chris and I had been one other time and we were excited to go again and knew William would love it too. We got there before it opened and stayed until 11:30. William was exhausted by then and it was apparent just how much sleep he missed the night before. But we got to see most of what we wanted to: the penguins, the jelly fish, the open sea aquarium, the touch pools, and several other tanks - sharks, rays, salmon, etc. I think the sharks were William's favorite!

We grabbed a quick lunch and got in the car. We handed William his glass of milk and his lovey and within 15 minutes he was out! He slept most of the way home (which never happens). It was good to be home and have just enough time for grocery shopping and getting the laundry done before we all went to bed for a better night sleep.

This past weekend, Chris had a wedding to attend near Monterey, CA so we decided to make a weekend out of it. Its been a while since we've done anything like that. I say Chris and not "we" because they specifically asked for no children to attend and since we didn't bring a babysitter, that meant William and I hung out together instead.

After the Walk for Life, we made the drive down. We stayed at an AirBnB in Marina CA which was nice, but not really kid friendly (wood floors, glass tables, fancy everything). While Chris was at the wedding William and I walked to the beach. When looking at the map, it looked like it was only six city blocks away which is totally doable, but this "city" was all spread out and a block was probably close to half a mile. In the end, it ended up being a four mile walk there and back! Including my walk that morning, I put in well over my 10,000 steps!

It was much colder than I had hoped it would be so we bundled up and got out or sand toys and had an hour of fun before hiking back for dinner. William and I ate at Taco Bell (because Toddler boy loves tacos and nachos and I figured it was better he eat than not). The decor was like a 50's diner and totally great for William's attention span. We actually had a nice little "date" and headed back just in time for bedtime.

Sleep was a little harder to come by that night. It was hot in the room and noisy outside but we had to have the window open. We missed our white noise of the fan from home and the sheets sounded like crinkled newspaper each time we moved. William woke up each time we got out of bed (to adjust the window or use the bathroom) and at one point he started sining "Jesus Loves Me" for nearly 15 minutes. Which is really the sweetest thing ever, but when you are loosing sleep, its not. Sharing a room was hard on all of us.

On Sunday, William woke up at 6 a.m. and we showered, packed our bags and headed to McDonalds! The only place open at 7:30 that had a playground (none of the parks I saw the day before had playgrounds for kids . . . just nature paths and bird watching).

After breakfast we headed to Monterey to see the aquarium. Chris and I had been one other time and we were excited to go again and knew William would love it too. We got there before it opened and stayed until 11:30. William was exhausted by then and it was apparent just how much sleep he missed the night before. But we got to see most of what we wanted to: the penguins, the jelly fish, the open sea aquarium, the touch pools, and several other tanks - sharks, rays, salmon, etc. I think the sharks were William's favorite!

We grabbed a quick lunch and got in the car. We handed William his glass of milk and his lovey and within 15 minutes he was out! He slept most of the way home (which never happens). It was good to be home and have just enough time for grocery shopping and getting the laundry done before we all went to bed for a better night sleep.